NWI Tech Support

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There are a vast number of infections out there and a catch-all virus/malware scanner most likely will never exist. With that in mind, there are however, numerous tools available, and if used in conjunction, will resolve most everything. In our research we have quite often referred to Bleeping Computer. I figured I’d mention it as it has to be one of the best informational resources we have run across to date.

Where to begin? The process of rectification is similar to that of an MD as it all depends on the symptoms. Although there are some best practices/general procedures we like to start with.

The first of which is a malware scan utilizing a program called Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware. This is an excellent all around malware scanner, probably the best on the market. If your machine is able to access the Internet and your able to install applications properly. It may be as simple as downloading a copy or their Free version from the website, installing and running a full scan.

If you can’t access the Internet you may have a proxy set for all of your outbound connections. To fix this issue Open Internet Explorer, click on Tools -> Internet Options, then click on the Connections Tab, then the LAN Settings button at the bottom right. Under “Proxy server” remove the check mark in the box next to “Use a proxy server for your LAN”, click OK, click Apply, and click OK. Close Internet Explorer and reopen it. Hopefully you now have Internet access to perform the procedure above.

If your symptoms include the inability to install applications (e.g. The file “such-n-such” is infected and cannot be executed or The file “such-n-such” is corrupted…, etc.), you may have better luck in Safe Mode (Vista Safe Mode). To get into Safe Mode you will need to press and hold the F8 key at the top of your keyboard as the computer is booting to reveal an Advanced menu from which you would want to select “Safe Mode with Networking”. This will boot the machine with minimum overhead and a network connection to access, download, and install the application. Note – Not all applications can be installed in Safe Mode.

If for some reason Malwarebytes’ has trouble removing any of your issues, whether in normal or safe mode (Safe Mode w/Networking is preferred if available), the next move would be to run ComboFix. As I take it, this application was created by sUBs from Bleeping Computer and runs a multitude of custom scripts in conjunction with third party applications to provide a thorough malware scan complete with removal and reporting.

For any remaining issues another great tool to try is SmitFraudFix.

Take a look at their links for directions as these applications are well documented.

If Safe Mode is not an option (as I have seen in many cases) the easiest move might be to perform an external OS scan follow this article “Windows will not boot, regular nor safe mode, what to do?“